 It
was the fall of 1977 and I was at age 7 when my family and I
found out that I had Legg-Calve-Perthes.
I had been playing soccer for 2 years and it was rough at first
to adjust to not being able to run around. I was in a local
hospital for 2 weeks while they ran test and soon I was fitted
with a leg brace. It was somewhat in the shape of an "A" as
you can see in the picture to the left. I wore the brace for
18 months. I had to go to therapy to learn how to walk in the
brace. At that time, I met another boy my age that had Perthes
in both hips. He was also learning how to walk in the brace
at that time. Though I remember meeting him there for the therapy
sessions, I don't recall my family and his keeping in touch
during my time with Perthes. My classmates, family and friends
all helped out and made the 18 months a little bit more bearable.
It makes a big difference to have support from those around
you. Six months after I got out of my leg brace, I went back
to playing soccer (which I still do today) and the following
Spring I started to play baseball (which I play softball now).
It may have slowed me up for that time period but I went back
to being an active kid shortly after my freedom from the brace. |
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